I quote from the excellent guide book to Azerbaijan from Mark Elliott: "Like cows, mud vulcanoes constantly fart flammable gases.They also like throwing gobs of mud and streaming forth watery flows with a vigor that varies seasonally. This behaviour is gently amusing rather than life threatening. Mud vulcanoes are cold and have...

We were mentally prepared for some high-summit mountain hike, but not for the bad weather that engulfed Azerbaijan in mid-April. So we were left to exploring the village of Xinaliq - which at 2200 meter elevation requires a day of acclimatization anyway - and some easy hiking to some nearby sights. Xinaliq village is said...